


Journey to Freedom

by edensgarden



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22372129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edensgarden/pseuds/edensgarden
Summary: Not in a million years would you have thought that the small boy with the beautiful teal eyes ogling the blueberry muffins in your bakery would end up as the love of your life, let alone as the hero of Paradis.But life has funny ways of bringing two people together.This is the story of Eren and you.
Relationships: Eren Yeager/Reader
Comments: 16
Kudos: 193





	Journey to Freedom

**Author's Note:**

> ❗WARNING: This one follows (almost) everything canon, so beware of possible spoilers!

“This one!” He pressed his small index finger against the glass display, pointing at the lone blueberry muffin on the rack. The scent of freshly baked berries wafted through to him and he inhaled deeply, letting the sweetness fill his lungs. 

He could feel the drool collecting in his mouth, his stomach grumbling at the idea of getting to eat pastry again. Eren licked his lips in anticipation, his pine green eyes traveling to look at his mother expectantly.

“Oh honey,” she frowned at him, patting the top of his head fondly, “I only brought enough change to buy us bread for dinner. No muffin today, I’m sorry.”

He felt his giddy expression falter, his hand falling limply at his side as he dejectedly accepted his mother’s words. He knew from experience that there was no use to fight against her. His mother’s stubbornness was the kind that only got worse the more it got provoked.

Nodding solemnly, he bid the full-figured bakery owner farewell, her rosy cheeks dimpled in an amusing smile at him. He saw her pull out the muffin from the display, averting his gaze to escape the sight of her devouring it.

His mother’s hand invaded his vision and he craned his neck to see her inviting him to take it, their journey home having already begun. Eren sighed heavily, his mind still dreaming about the soft muffin, the fluffy texture of the dough with the exploding sweetness of the blueberries nestled in it. 

“Excuse me!” He turned his head instinctively when he heard a chirpy voice call out after they had walked a good distance, his brows furrowing in confusion when he saw your small form run towards with him with a package in hand. 

You panted after reaching him and his mother and they stopped once they realized it was them you were running after. Clutching your knees, you doubled over and tried to refill your lungs with the oxygen you had lost.

You lifted your head, your cheeks dusted pink from the summer sun and your effort. You felt your heart pumping blood vividly, the large eyes of Eren gazing into yours questioningly. 

Why were you getting nervous all of a sudden? Eren and his mother would stop by your bakery every day to get bread for the day. It wasn’t like you saw the boy for the first time. 

But it was the first time you had actually stood in front of him, looking into the teal pools that were always filled with life and excitement. And boy… _did he have mesmerizing eyes._

You found yourself forgetting what you came here for, wanting to stay rooted on the ground if it meant you got to watch this beautiful specimen of a human being.

“(Name) sweetie,” his mother crouched next to you, looking over you in concern, “Is everything alright?”

“Ah!” Remembering why you ran after them in a hurry, you pushed the small package into Eren’s chest, your eyes fixed to a spot on your right, adamant on escaping his penetrative gaze.

He took the package from your shaking hands, the question of what it was you had given him about to leave his lips. He stopped, his brows raising in surprise as he watched you whip around the moment your fingers had brushed, running off to the direction you had come from, your hair dancing in the wind behind you.

Eren looked after your running form frustratedly, wondering what had gotten into the daughter of the baker. Had you always been this awkward? Well… he did always notice you peeking at him from the back of your mother’s skirt, your eyes following his every move.

At first he had thought you wanted to befriend him, so he tried to smile at you to initiate the first step. But all he had been greeted with had been you yelping and scrambling to hide behind your mother again, only to shyly pop your reddening face back out to watch him.

Young and clueless as he was, he didn’t know what your actions had meant and shrugged it off, taking you as a peculiar fella before he would follow his mother back out to go home. 

“Aren’t you going to open it, Eren?” His mother urged him, patting the dust off her skirt before turning to take up her pace again.

The crinkling sounds of the paper bag accompanied his nimble fingers unpacking his gift and he was instantly hit with the sweet scent of vanilla and blueberries, his jaw dropping at the sight he was greeted with.

You had taken the last muffin that he had wanted before someone else could buy it and ran all this way after him to give it to him _for free_. His face lit up as his lips curled into a wide smile, the tiniest of blushes rising on his cheeks as he bit into the pastry happily.

The next time Eren and his mother had come to the bakery, he had brought a bright pink peony along that he had plucked when he was playing outside on the fields with Armin. He thought this way he could repay your kindness, having witnessed his father gifting his mother a flower whenever he wanted to thank her for something.

You had blushed so bright, you were sure you could’ve invented a new shade of red. But the small smile that quickly followed showed him he had done the right thing, a proud grin forming on his own face.

Reluctantly and quietly, you had managed to answer his burning questions on what your name was, how old you were and if you wanted to join him and Armin. After a few more minutes of stuttering and giggling nervously on your part, you had finally started to feel more comfortable around him.

It didn’t take long for the three of you to bind together with the amount of time you had spent. Every day you would run out to the pads, marveling over the stories about the outside world written in the books Armin would bring and chasing after the colorful butterflies and competing to see who would catch one first. 

Your initial timidity blossomed into a bright and bubbly persona, your jokes and pranks on the boys growing bolder.  
However, there was one thing that hadn’t changed over the years. 

And that was your chest bursting open with affection whenever you looked into the teal eyes of the boy who had captured your heart the very first day he had set foot into your small bakery.

Everything seemed perfect for a while. Helping your mother in the bakery during the morning and going off to play with Eren in the afternoon. You had no worries and lived life, fully enjoying every moment of the day. You were sure that your life would stay like this, that you would get to be with Eren until the end of time.

But then the unthinkable happened. That day… the human race was brutally reminded of the terror of being dominated by the Titans and the shame of being held captive in a birdcage. 

You had just separated from Armin and Eren, on your way home to prepare dinner together with your mother when you heard the panicked screams of the people around you. 

The feeling of horror that had entered your heart on that day would never fully leave you in the years to come, the memory of the Titans deeply ingrained in your mind. 

That day, your bakery was trampled to naught, all of the freshly baked goods mixed in the rubble on the ground. Your mother’s sanctuary… all of her hard work gone within seconds.

And if it wasn’t for her ripping you off the street and into her arms, if it wasn’t for her strong legs carrying you to the edge of the village, bringing you both to the ship that was scheduled to transport all of the refugees inside Wall Rose… You were sure you would’ve ended up in the digestive tract of a Titan as well.

“(Name)!” You had heard the familiar tone of Eren calling out to you and before you had a chance to turn around to face him, he had thrust himself at you, his arms embracing you with an urgency unusual to him. 

“Thank god… you’re okay,” You had felt him hold back a sob, his hand tightening its hold on the back of your head as he had pressed his cheek against your hair. “I was so worried…” 

The shaking in his bones had tugged at your heart strings and you didn’t need to ask to know why he was all alone with Armin without his parents by his side. Your eyes had welled at the thought of never being able to see Carla again and your tiny hands had grabbed his shirt, your head buried in your safe haven that was his neck.

Eren had felt your warm tears dripping down his shoulder, his own trailing down his cheek, the feeling of utter gratitude hugging him like a warm blanket on a cold winter night. He had closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of vanilla that you always seemed to carry around you, his heart settling into a more regular pace now that he knew you were safe.

“(Name)… I’m so glad,” he had whispered in your ear, unaware that he was thinking out loud, “ _I can’t lose you too._ ”

It had been six years since Wall Maria had fallen. So much had happened since then. Eren and Armin had joined the Military and had been assigned to the Scout Regimen, just like they had always wanted. 

They had trained diligently, fought many Titans and lost a great deal of friends over the years in the most gruesome ways that you had been spared to witness. 

Your mother had opened a new bakery in Wall Rose, her impeccable talent for pastry having been recognized by the government officials and soon your mother had been offered a place inside Wall Sina. The king had wanted her as his official baker and being the only child of her, she had taken you with her, her grip on you a lot tighter ever since the fall of Wall Maria.

Your lives had taken drastic changes and you found yourself drifting apart from Eren, your heart yearning to see and hold him again. Every time you received a letter from him in which he would explain that he was outside of the walls, you were glued to your window, waiting desperately for the letterman to arrive and stop at your door, a clear sign that Eren was back and safe. _And alive._

He made sure to always write you and on his off days, he would travel the distance to stop by and spend the day with you. Eren didn’t tell you much about his expeditions, claiming it was confidential information but he always reassured you that he was okay, that he was safe and that he would always return to your side.

It was on your birthday that he had taken another day off, much to his superiors dismay, and appeared in front of your doorstep out of nowhere, dozens of pink peony’s nestled between his fingers.

“Eren,” you had jumped into his arms with a carefree laugh, the ends of his hair tickling your neck as you felt the vibrations of his chest from his own laughter, “You came!”

He had taken you to the town center, insisting that you keep one of the flowers tucked behind your ear. Your cheeks had rivaled the color of the peonies when he wouldn’t stop staring at you and it was only after you shoved his face away playfully that he chuckled and said in the most serious tone you have heard him use.

“Just burning it to memory. I don’t ever want to forget this sight.”

Sometime during the day, he had taken the leap and grabbed your hand without any forewarning, intertwining your fingers with his, claiming that you could get lost in the crowd if he didn’t hold onto you. His hand had been warm and soft… you had liked the feel of your skin against his. Your hand fit perfectly into his… it was almost as if your hands had been made for each other.

When you had lifted your eyes to look at him, you had found, much to your surprise, that he was pursing his lips, his eyes gazing everywhere but you as a blush adorned his cheeks. 

You couldn’t stop staring at him, your heart twitching at the flustered boy whose trademark move was to yell passionately at everyone and everything. Was this the same boy who had managed to be in the Top Ten of the Military students? You giggled into your free hand, wondering what his friends would think if they saw the fierce Eren so coy and embarrassed holding your hand.

“What are you staring at?” He asked you gruffly, clearing his throat when his voice broke midway.

You tilted your head fondly, your eyes forming two tiny crescents as you smiled brightly at him, poking your tongue out for good measure at your cheeky comeback,

“Nothing. Just burning it to memory. I don’t ever want to forget this sight.”

Another year had passed and you had swallowed down the rumors around you. People were on edge and they were desperate to take their minds off of the Titans roaming outside the walls. More often than not you would hear Eren’s name leave their lips, but you tried not to pay them any heed.

He always showed up without fail, always choosing to visit you on his off days rather than use it so rest. Sometimes you would scold him, seeing the bags underneath his eyes from his restless nights of training, but deep down inside, you were glad he kept coming back to you.

You were aware you were being selfish, but you couldn’t bear the thought of seeing him even less than you already were. His letters were full of promises, always the same topic of wanting to show you the outside world.

One day he would turn the world into a safe space for you, he had promised you that ever since he had been on his first expedition outside the walls.

It was another one of those days where he had come to eat your mother’s blueberry muffins. He had looked incredibly tired, he was doing experiments in his Titan form he had told you, but he couldn’t disclose any more than that. 

That one had been another hard pill to swallow. Eren was a Titan. When you had first heard the rumors of a boy from Shiganshina possessing the ability to turn into a Titan, you had brushed it off. The thought of _your_ Eren being a Titan had never even crossed your mind.

The first time you saw him after it had been confirmed that it was indeed _him_ had been tense and awkward to say the least. You had been distant… a little bit scared even. 

Hurting him had never been your intention, but he always kept you out of the loop and you had little to no knowledge about Titans other than their insatiable hunger for humans and what little they had taught you at school.

Your very first fight with Eren had happened on the same day, when he had leaned in to brush a strand of your hair behind your ear and you had slapped his hand away instinctively, jumping out of his reach.

The shock that morphed into pain in his beautiful eyes was enough to snap your last straw of patience. You had screamed and cried and hit him while he had pulled you into his chest, refusing to let you go out of his arms. 

You had wanted the truth and you had wanted _all_ of it. Out of fear of losing the one thing that kept him stable and sane, he had given in and told you _everything_ that had happened since the fall of Wall Maria.

You didn’t know what you had expected, but you certainly hadn’t expected for Eren to have gone through _this_ much. Afterwards he had spent hours inside your arms, playing with the soft strands of your hair and inhaling the scent of vanilla that always managed to calm his racing heart.

He stayed the night at your place, the very first time you two had shared a room together, an innocent yet thrilling night for the two of you. You had talked throughout the entire night about Eren’s fights with a guy he called ‘horseface’ and about his superior whom he had dubbed ‘The Little Devil’.

The feeling of relief that day had embraced you like a soft, furry cocoon. He had finally let you fully, completely inside. There were no more secrets between the two of you, a solid steel bond formed that kept you both connected.

The morning after, you stood in front of your house, your hand inside his. He had looked visibly uncomfortable, shuffling from one foot to the other and you could tell that something was bothering him.

“Eren…?” Your soft voice had pulled him out of his internal turmoil and you reached to cup his cheek, only to have him look up and away from you. What had gotten into him all of a sudden? What was he not telling you?

“Hey… Say… (Name)…” He had started muttering unsure of himself, no trace left of his confidence from the day before, “Would you- Uh- Do you think we could-“ He had released your hand and pulled away from your touch for a second, turning his back to you and clutching his head agitatedly.

Eren had groaned the most frustrated way you had ever heard from him and he had whipped around in a speed you hadn’t expected, took your cheeks in both his hands before he pressed his lips on yours. 

After the initial shock of the situation wore off, he kissed you in the most loving manner, tracing your lips with his own, the taste of the coffee you had shared that morning intertwining once you granted access to his tongue.

You felt lightheaded, his hands traveling down to grasp your throat gently, turning your head to deepen the kiss. Butterflies danced in your stomach, your heart threatening to shoot straight out of your chest and you could swear you felt him smile against your lips.

He pulled away breathless, his teal eyes half-lidded and hazy, a shy smile darting across his features. When your breathing had returned to normal, Eren had pulled away completely, his cheeks dusted pink and his gaze escaping yours once again.

“There. I kissed you.” He said, tightening his grip on your shoulders, “You can’t kiss anyone else now. Got it?”

This boy. Your heart screamed at you to let it out, your small chest failing at giving it enough space to do its summersaults. Was he even aware how much his actions affected you? 

You felt your cheeks heat up, your neck still burning from his touch as if he had never retracted his fingers from you. Silently you nodded, playing with the ends of your hair, the lovestruck smile stuck on your face.

Another two years had passed and by now everyone knew you were Eren’s girlfriend. He had invited you to the headquarters of the Scout Regimen, introducing you to his direct superiors, his friends and colleagues.

They had all been very eager to finally meet you after having heard from you for all these years and you were nothing short of nervous and anxious to meet the brave soldiers of the Walls.

Everyone had welcomed you very kindly, showing you around during the day and enjoying a rowdy but funny night accompanied by music and drinks. The men especially seemed to enjoy your company, several of them trying their chance at flirting with you.

Oblivious as you were, you never picked up the hint and replied back earnestly, leaving a wake of gushing men after you, much to Eren’s dislike. 

Whenever you’d turn your head away from them, he would stare at them with his titanized eyes, a silent threat to end their life should they even entertain the thought of touching you.

Even the guy Eren had called ‘horseface’ was very kind and accommodating towards you, relishing in the topic of pastries and baking, mentioning his own mother who was a baker and had taught him a thing or two when he was a kid.

Jean and you hit it off immediately, your humors aligning and you found yourself talking with him for hours and discussing one topic after the other animatedly. One drink had led to another and you were sitting flushed in front of him, your cheeks tinted in a pretty pink and your eyes dipped in a dreamy hue. You were oblivious to the admiring gaze in Jean’s eyes, but the people around you weren’t as clueless.

It wasn’t until Eren had lifted your body physically off the bench and threw you over his shoulder that he earned several whistles and cheers from the drunk men. He walked out of the bar grumbling about the audacity of the horseface to flirt so openly with you in front of him.

After all you were his and everyone knew that, so why the hell would they look at you like that? And you didn’t even understand that they were all lusting after you, what with your stupid cute little giggle and your big dreamy eyes… 

God he loved you so fucking much, it hurt his heart to even think about you.

The very first night that Eren had made love to you had also been the night he had left for Marley. You could still feel the tingle on your neck from his long hair draping across it as he had kissed you tenderly, thrusting into your welcoming warm body.

He had taken his time exploring the landscape that was your body, letting his fingertips ghost over the hills and mounds, memorizing the feeling of your soft curves against him. Eren had studied each of your blissful expressions, recording the soft sounds that had escaped your lips as he had let you ride the waves of pleasure he was bestowing you with.

 _He had made utter and pure love to you_ and you had felt it in the depths of your bones. He had put his entire being inside of you, imprinting you with his seed and you were sure you would still feel him on you long after he left. 

That night he had kissed you goodbye, his lips presenting you with the urgency in his emotions that his words had failed to portray. He had made you promise not to tell anyone about his plans to leave and you had complied, not even trying to keep him from going.

After all these years with Eren… you knew he couldn’t be stopped. Trying to keep him caged would only result in the opposite. You were aware of this, you had known that sooner or later, something like this would happen. You had taken that into account when you had started being his.

“This is the last time I leave,” He had promised, his hands running through your hair continuously, curling the ends around the tip of his finger before releasing and starting from the top again, “Once I come back, I will take you outside the walls. I will take you out to the sea,” His hand had cupped your cheeks, his nose nudging the highest part of your cheek before he pressed a tender kiss on your forehead, “I will show you the beauty this world has to offer,” He leaned down, his piercing teal eyes swimming in yours, “ _I will get you out of this cage._ ”

_‘I will get you of this cage.’_

Eren’s last promise to you replayed in your mind over and over again, your horrified eyes fixed on the thousands of Titans that came crumbling down the walls. 

You had been stuck in a safe room inside the Military headquarters, a group of young soldiers, who claimed to work under Eren keeping watch over you there. It was when you had walked towards the window to see what the commotion outside had been about when suddenly lightning struck inside your brain and you had a vision of Eren talking to you.

He was delivering a message to the people of Eldia, proclaiming that he will let the Titans inside the wall loose to trample down the world, leaving behind nothing but the Eldians, who had been terrorized and ostracized by the world for decades.

You had managed to knock aside the soldiers, running up the stairs to the rooftop in time with Eren’s new Titan body looming over the entire island, the Titans following his every order and walking past the humans and towards the ocean. Minutes had turned into hours and the hours that passed felt like years. 

The next time you saw Eren, he was bent over on the ground, panting for air with a small girl standing over him, her hand protectively over his head.

You rushed to him with blurry eyes, tears clouding your vision as you flung yourself at him. You cried in a gut-wrenching manner, insulting him in all the ways you could whilst also peppering his tired face with soft kisses, inhaling his musky scent to reassure yourself that this was truly Eren inside of your arms. _Alive._

“He freed me from my curse,” the blonde child said, turning her hopeful eyes to you and it was then that you saw her extracting a distinctively colored fluid from his spine, “So I will free him from his.”

You were left to watch her leave with your mouth wide open, your head spinning with the unprocessed information. Who was this girl? What did she mean when she said Eren had freed her from her curse? _What did she mean when she said she was going to free him from his?_

Before you were able to call out to her, Eren had beaten you to it, reaching for your hand and squeezing it, diverting your attention from the child to himself. 

You gasped in disbelief, witnessing the expression of pure and utter delight, happiness and relief on Eren, his eyes twinkling with joy as he released the most carefree laughter you had ever heard from him. He lifted himself off the ground easily, his hand reaching out to you, an open invitation to take it.

“Let's go, (Name). Let's go to the sea.”

**Author's Note:**

> 📣 Kudos and comments are always appreciated. Don't be shy, stop by, say hello, lemme know what you thought of this, let's talk a bit!


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